Persistent  visual media player

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for presenting an embedded visual media player included in a web page in a floating mode is disclosed herein. The status of the embedded visual media player and/or the position of the embedded visual media player relative to the current viewable area of a window are monitored to initiate the floating mode. The floating mode keeps the embedded visual media player within the viewable area while the web page is scrolled.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to display of visual media information.More particularly, the present invention relates to user influenceddisplay of visual media information.

In recent years, network bandwidth has increased to the point where webpages can include visual media information, such as video, withoutpresentation of such web pages taking an unduly long time. Theadvantages of visual media information are numerous. For example, visualmedia information can include moving images and audio information, whichis a richer format than textual information. Visual media information isalso typically provided to the user with user interactivefunctionalities. The user controls if and when to start, stop, pause,repeat, etc. his/her viewing of the visual media information. Visualmedia information, and by extension web pages including suchinformation, may also attract more potential viewers than web pagescontaining only textual information. Visual media information may alsotranscend language barriers.

Visual media information included in a web page is typically provided ata fixed area within the web page. If the entirely of the web pagerequires a larger viewing area than the browser window, then the areawith the visual media information can fall outside the browser windowdepending on the user's interaction with the browser window scrollbar(s). Changing the viewing area of the web page is not uncommon giventhe fact that most web pages also contain other content (e.g., textualinformation) at other fixed areas relative to the area for the visualmedia information.

As the user views the web page and initiates viewing of the visual mediainformation (e.g., clicks on the “play” button icon), the user'sinterest may turn to other content on the same web page. The user couldscroll the web page to the extent that the area associated with thevisual media information is partially or fully outside the viewing areaof the browser window (such scrolling action is common for long webpages). However, the visual media information continues to “play”regardless of whether the user is currently able to view such content.By the time the user returns to the area containing the visual mediainformation, it may have completed “playing.” Alternatively, the user isrequired to return to the area associated with the visual mediainformation in order to change the presentation state of the visualmedia information (e.g., to click on the “pause” or “stop” button icon).Thus, the potential of having visual media information included in a webpage is not fully realized, because when the visual media information isoutside the viewing area of the browser window, it is no different, fromthe user's point of view, than a web page that does not have visualmedia information.

One way to maintain the visual media information in a viewable area isto configure the entirety of the web page including the visual mediainformation to fit within the viewable area of the browser window. Thismay be accomplished either when the web page is created or by thebrowser at presentation time. Sometimes this approach may not bepossible because all of the web page cannot be rendered in the viewablearea at once and still be legible.

Another way is to segment the web page into more than one web page andrepeat the visual media information in each of the segmented web pages.This approach is likely to involve each segment including a link to thenext segment. The downsides to this approach are, among others,decreasing the user experience by requiring more link clicking and/orthe lack of continuity in the presentation state of the visual mediainformation among the segmented web pages (e.g., if the visual mediainformation “played” a quarter of the way through in a first segment,then the second segment does not start play of the same visual mediainformation at the start of the second quarter point).

Still another way to maintain the visual media information in a viewablearea is to provide the visual media information in a separate browserwindow, such as a pop-up window. For example, a first browser window maycontain a web page with content other than the visual media information,and a second browser window, either automatically or upon user request,opens to provide the visual media information. Each browser windowtypically functions independently of each other and only one window canbe in “front” (or be responsive to user commands) at any given time.Thus, if the user starts to “play” the visual media information in thesecond window and then goes to the first window to view content in thatwindow, the first window could obscure the second window or the secondwindow may become minimized.

Accordingly, it would be beneficial to have a web page that includesvisual media information, in which the visual media information ispersistently viewable by the user for the duration of the presentationof the web page. It would be beneficial for the user to have persistentaccess to interactive functionalities associated with the visual mediainformation for the duration of the presentation of the web page. Itwould be beneficial to provide a system and method capable ofcontinually presenting the visual media information within the viewablearea of a browser window regardless of the scrolling action by the user.It would be beneficial to provide a system and method capable ofdynamically modifying a web page that includes visual media informationsuch that the visual media information may be dynamically positionedrelative to other content included in the web page in response to useraction.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the invention relates to a method for modifying a webpage. The method includes transmitting instructions operable to identifya visual media element from the web page and to persistently present thevisual media element at a fixed location within a viewable area when theweb page is simultaneously presented in the viewable area.

Another aspect of the invention relates to an apparatus for dynamicallymodifying a web page comprising logic operable to present a web pageincluding an embedded visual media element in a viewable area, andmonitor a play status of the embedded visual media element included inthe web page. The logic is further operable to monitor an out-of-viewstatus of a portion of the embedded visual media element, and presentthe embedded visual media element at a pre-determined portion of theviewable area in response to at least one of the player status and theout-of-view status.

Still another aspect of the invention relates to a computer programproduct. The computer program product includes a web page configured toinclude at least a first content, a visual media item, and a visualmedia player. The computer program product further includes a first setof instructions capable of using the visual media item and the visualmedia player from the web page to generate a floating visual mediaelement for the web page. The computer program product further includescomputer readable medium encoded with the web page and the first set ofinstructions, wherein the floating visual media element is operable topersist regardless of a viewing portion of the web page.

Still another aspect of the invention relates to a computer system. Thecomputer system includes a server configured to include a web pagehaving at least a first content, a visual media item, and a visual mediaplayer. The server also includes a first set of instructions capable ofusing the visual media item and the visual media player from the webpage to generate a floating visual media element overlaying at least aportion of the web page. The floating visual media element is capable ofpersisting regardless of a viewing portion of the web page.

Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the featuresin accordance with embodiments of the invention. The summary is notintended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by theclaims attached hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The exemplary embodiments will become more fully understood from thefollowing detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein the reference numeral denote similarelements, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a system for providing apersistent or floating visual media element.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a persistent or floatingvisual media element mechanism in the system of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3-8 illustrate representative web pages displayed in accordancewith the persistent or floating visual media element mechanism of FIG.2.

FIGS. 9-11 illustrate representative web pages displayed in accordancewith alternative embodiments of the persistent or floating visual mediaelement mechanism of FIG. 2.

In the drawings, to easily identify the discussion of any particularelement or art, the most significant digit or digits in a referencenumber refer to the figure number in which that element is firstintroduced (e.g., element 1104 is first introduced and discussed withrespect to FIG. 11).

The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do notnecessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Described in detail below is an apparatus and method for providing apersistent and floating visual media element in a web page. Visual mediaitem and accompanying visual media player, collectively the visual mediaelement, included in the web page are floated over the web page inresponse to the viewer's interaction with the presented web page. Whenthe visual media player is in play mode (either automatically uponpresentation of the web page or by the viewer's actuation) and a portionof the visual media element is (or about to fall) out of view, apersistent or floating visual media player mechanism is operable toidentify the visual media element and present it in a fixed positionwithin the viewable area. The resulting floating visual media elementstays in the viewable area regardless of scrolling of the web page. Thefloat/persistent mode is maintained until a trigger occurs indicatingdesirability to return to the normal mode. Examples of appropriatetriggers include pausing play of the visual media item, completed playof the visual media item, or a new web page request by the viewer. Inresponse, the floating visual media element is returned to the normalpage flow of the web page. Accordingly, the viewer is able to view anypart of the web page and simultaneously view the visual media item (andhave access to the visual media player control panel) without having towait and/or scroll back and forth within the web page.

The following description provides specific details for a thoroughunderstanding of, and enabling description for, embodiments of theinvention. However, one skilled in the art will understand that theinvention may be practiced without these details. In other instances,well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described indetail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of theembodiments of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of one embodiment of a system 100for providing persistently viewable visual media information is shown.The system 100 includes each of a server 102, a server 104, a database106, a database 108, a client 110, and a client 112 in communicationwith a network 114.

The servers 102, 104 are host servers operable to provide content, webpages, and/or web-based applications to each of the clients 110 and 112via the network 114. The databases 106, 108 are operable to store dataprovided by and/or used by the servers 102, 104 and/or clients 110, 112.The databases 106, 108 may communicate with any of servers 102, 104 orclients 110, 112 via the network 114.

Alternatively, the servers 102, 104 may include the databases 106, 108,processors, switches, routers, interfaces, and/or other components andmodules. Each of the servers 102, 104 may comprise one or more servers,or may be combined into a fewer number of servers than shown, dependingon computational and/or distributed computing environments. The servers102, 104 may be located at different geographic locations relative toeach other. The databases 106, 108 may also be located at differentgeographic locations relative to each other and to the servers 102, 104.The databases 106, 108 may be directly connected to the servers 102,104. It is contemplated that there may be more or less than two servers,more or less than two databases, and/or more or less than two clientscomprising the system 100. The system 100 may be comprised of multiple(interconnected) networks such as local area networks and wide areanetworks.

The client 110 includes a memory 116, a processor 118, an input device120, and an output device 122. The client 110 may be a general purposecomputer (e.g., personal computer). Other computer systemconfigurations, including Internet appliances, hand-held devices,wireless devices, portable devices, wearable computers, cellular ormobile phones, portable digital assistants (PDAs), multi-processorsystems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, gameconsoles, set-top boxes, network PCs, mini-computers, and the like mayalso be implemented as the client 110. The client 110 includes one ormore applications, program modules, plug-ins, and/or sub-routines. As anexample, the client 110 can include a browser application (e.g.,Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.), Abode Flash Player, media player(e.g., Windows Media Player), and a graphical user interface (GUI) toaccess web sites, web pages, or web-based applications provided by theservers 102, 104 and data stored in the databases 106, 108. The client112 is configured similar to the client 110. The clients 110, 112 may beremotely located from each other, the servers 102, 104 and/or thedatabases 106, 108.

The network 114 is a communications network, such as a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or the Internet. When thenetwork 114 is a public network, security features (e.g., VPN/SSL securetransport) may be included to ensure authorized access within the system100.

Referring to FIG. 2, a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment forgenerating a persistent or floating visual media player is illustrated.The flow diagram includes a web page rendering block 200, a play statusmonitoring block 202, a play mode checking block 204, a different webpage request checking block 208, an end block 214, an outside viewablearea checking block 220, an embedded player “extraction” block 226, areserved area creation block 228, a floating player rendering block 230,a “stop” mode checking block 232, and a return to normal mode block 238.The flow diagram of FIG. 2 will be discussed in conjunction withrepresentative web pages illustrated in FIGS. 3-8.

At the block 200, a browser application at a client, such as the client110, receives data associated with a web page from a server, such as theserver 102, and renders the web page in a browser window. The web pageincludes visual media item and a visual media player. Visual media itemcomprises, but is not limited to, video, animation, slide show,graphics, video conference feed, webcam feed, video phone feed, or audioplayer. The visual media player may be any type of player capable ofrunning the visual media item, and which provides a control panel foruser interactive capabilities such as play, stop, pause, forward,reverse, fast forward, fast reverse, etc. Examples of visual mediaplayers include Windows Media Player and Real Media Player. The browserapplication also receives data and/or instructions (such as computerreadable code or instructions) to provide the persistent visual mediaplayer functionality. Such data and/or instructions can be embeddedwithin the requested web page, or it can be a stand-alone module orplug-in. In one embodiment the persistent visual media playerfunctionality is referred to as the persistent or floating visual mediaplayer mechanism.

Referring to FIG. 3, a representative browser window 300 displaying aweb page 302 is illustrated. The browser window 300 may be a windowprovided at the client 110. The browser window 300 includes a scroll bar310. The scroll bar 310 can be moved up or down to view any portion ofthe web page 302. The web page 302 includes at least one visual mediaitem 304, a visual media player 306, and textual information 308 (orother textual and/or graphical information). The visual media item 304and the visual media player 306 comprise an element within the web page302, referred to as a visual media element 312. The visual media player306 is “packaged” together with the visual media item 304 in order toprovide viewing control to the person viewing the visual media item 304.The visual media player 306 in such configuration is also referred to asan embedded player.

In FIG. 3, the top portion of the web page 302 is displayed, and allparts of the visual media element 312 are within a viewable area of thebrowser window 300. Although the web page 302 is illustrated as a singlecolumn page, it is contemplated that the web page 302 can comprise twoor more columns, or other page layouts.

After the web page 302 has been rendered, the play status of the visualmedia element 312 is monitored at the block 202. The additional dataand/or instructions received from the server are in communication withor “hooks” into the visual media player 306 to obtain the play statusmaintained by an Application Programming Interface (API). Next at theblock 204 and a branch 206, if the visual media player 306 is not in aplay (or running) state, then a check is performed to determine whethera different web page has been requested (block 208). If a different webpage has been requested (“yes” branch 212), then a persistent visualmedia player is not needed for the web page 302 (block 214). On theother hand, if a different web page has not been requested (“no” branch210), then monitoring of the play status continues at the block 202.

If the visual media player 306 is in a play state (“yes” branch 216),then the position of the visual media player 306 relative to theviewable area of the browser window 300 is checked in the block 220. Thevisual media player 306 can be in a play state because the viewer of theweb page 302 clicked on a “play” button provided by the visual mediaplayer 306 or the web page 302 may be pre-configured to start playing orrunning the visual media item 304 upon rendering of the web page 302 inthe browser window 300.

In the block 220, a check is performed to see if any portion of thevisual media element 312 falls (or is about to fall) outside theviewable area of the browser window 300. The visual media element 312can provide its position information to the mechanism (or browserapplication), or the mechanism (or browser application) can beconfigured to obtain the position information from the visual mediaelement 312 or web page 302. Alternatively, the persistent visual mediaplayer functionality can be configured to check the direction of thepage scroll and anticipate whether a portion of the visual media element312 is about to fall outside the viewable area of the browser window300. As another alternative, the persistent visual media playerfunctionality can be configured to check for a particular portion of thevisual media element 312 falling outside the viewable area of thebrowser window 300. For example, the block 220 may check whether the topedge of the visual media element 312 has or is about to move outside theviewing area of the browser window 300.

If all portions of the visual media element 312 are within the browserwindow 300 (“no” branch 222), then checking for a portion of the visualmedia element 312 outside the viewable area continues at the block 220.On the other hand, if a portion of the visual media element 312 hasmoved outside the viewing area (or moving outside is eminent) (“yes”branch 224), then floating the visual media element 312 out of itsnormal position within the web page 302 begins at the block 226.

For the web page 302 illustrated in FIG. 4, the visual media element 312is not in play mode (e.g., play mode has completed or play mode has notbeen initiated) and the scroll bar 310 is at a lower position comparedto the position illustrated in FIG. 3. The viewer is scrolling down toview a lower portion of the web page 302. As the web page 302 isscrolled, the upper portion of the web page 302, including the visualmedia element 312, starts to fall outside the viewable area of thebrowser window 300. When the viewer does not express interest in thevisual media element 312 (e.g., viewer has not initiated play of thevisual media element 312) or the visual media element 312 is inactive(e.g., not in play mode), then the visual media element 312 is treatedthe same as the rest of the content comprising the web page 302,including scrolling out of the viewable area based on the position ofthe scroll bar 310.

When the status of the visual media player 306 and the position of thevisual media element 312 relative to the viewable area of the browserwindow 300 indicate that the visual media player 306 is playing and aportion of the visual media element 312 has scrolled out of view (or isabout to scroll out of view), the persistent or floating visual mediaplayer mechanism modifies the web page 302 so that the visual mediaelement 312 is taken out of the normal page flow and is dynamicallyoverlaid on the web page 302 for continual viewing regardless of theoriginal portion of the web page 302 within the viewable area of thebrowser window 300.

At the block 226, the visual media element 312 is extracted from the webpage 302. At the block 230, a new container element (e.g., a HTMLgrouping element) is created at a pre-determined location within theviewable area, and the extracted visual media element 312 is displayedin the newly created container element. The pre-determined locationcomprises a fixed portion of the viewable area, such as the top rightcorner, of a size and shape appropriate to match the extracted visualmedia element 312. In providing the extracted visual media element 312at the new location, there is no interruption of the existing playstatus of the visual media element 312. For example, if the visual mediaelement 312 was playing for five seconds before it had or was about toscroll out of view, then the extracted visual media element 312displayed in accordance with the block 230 would not restart play fromthe beginning of the visual media item 304. It would continue playing asit had while in the normal page flow.

In an alternative embodiment, the blocks 226 and 230 comprise modifyingthe layout behavior of the visual media element 312 without creating newelements. At the blocks 226 and 230, the positioning of the visual mediaelement 312 (or its parent container element if it exists) is no longercalculated in relation to the other elements (or content) of the webpage 302. As such, content other than the visual media element 312continues to reposition as the page scrolls but the visual media element312 stays fixed in the viewable area, typically at the last locationbefore it started to scroll out of view.

For both embodiments, the start of the manipulation of the visual mediaelement 312 (e.g., block 226) is generally referred to as identificationof the visual media element 312 in preparation of persistentpresentation. The style associated with the visual media element 312 ischanged from existing position coordinates to new fixed positioncoordinates or programmatically kept at the desired coordinates based onthe current scroll position to maintain the visual media element 312 atthe new pre-determined fixed area in the browser window 300.

The repositioned visual media element 312 is referred to as a persistentand/or floating visual media player (or element). Content of the webpage 302 that would normally exist where the persistent visual mediaplayer is newly positioned is obscured by the persistent visual mediaplayer. (Another way to conceptualize the element 312 is that it is anopaque layer over the web page 302 such that content underneath is notvisible.) The persistent state of the player and hiding the web page 302content underlying the persistent player at any given time aremaintained as the viewer scrolls up or down and/or otherwise interactswith the web page 302. All of the control panel functionality of thevisual media player 306 also continues to be provided in the persistentvisual media player.

The block 228 is optional depending on the original configuration of theweb page 302. If a parent container element already exists in the webpage 302 for the visual media element 312, then such parent containerelement is untouched to prevent changing the layout of the rest of theweb page 302 when the visual media element 312 is extracted forre-creation or its layout position is changed relative to the rest ofthe web page 302. The parent container element serves as a placeholderfor the missing visual media element 312 so that the layout of the restof the web page 302 is maintained. If a parent container element doesnot exist in the web page 302 for the visual media element 312, then aplaceholder container element is created to reserve the space previouslyoccupied by the visual media element 312. The block 228 may occursimultaneous with the block 226.

Referring to FIG. 5, the web page 302 is illustrated with the top edgeof the visual media element 312 about to move out of view. The positionof the scroll bar 310 is at a lower position relative to the position ofthe scroll bar 310 in FIG. 3. Although not shown, the visual mediaelement 312 in FIG. 5 is in a play state. Thus, both conditions fortriggering the floating visual media player have occurred. In FIG. 6 apersistent or floating visual media element 500 is shown for the webpage 302. The persistent element 500 is the visual media element 312pulled from the normal page flow of the web page 302 and repositioned tocontinually “float” at a pre-determined position within the viewablearea of the browser window 300 over any existing content. In FIG. 6, thepre-determined position is the upper right corner of the browser window300. The viewer has scrolled down further than in FIG. 5 (the positionof scroll bar 310 is at a lower position relative to the position shownin FIG. 5) but the persistent element 500 stays in view. The textualinformation 308 continues to be displayed, although part of the textlines “f,” “g,” “h,” “i,” and “j” 502 are hidden by the persistentelement 500.

Even if the visual media element 312 is already partially outside theviewable area of the browser window 300, the persistent or floatingvisual media player mechanism is operable. The web page can switch tofloat/persistent mode even if the viewer initiates play of the embeddedplayer after reading the web page for a while. For example, if theviewer has scrolled the web page such that a portion of the embeddedplayer has already scrolled out of view and then the viewer selects theplay button on the embedded player, then the float/persistent modeoccurs at that point in time. Referring to FIG. 7, the web page 302 isillustrated with the visual media element 312 partially outside theviewable area of the browser window 300 and not in a play state. Theposition of the scroll bar 310 is at a lower position than shown in FIG.5. If the viewer then initiates play of the visual media item 304, thenboth conditions for triggering the floating visual media player aresatisfied. Accordingly, in FIG. 8 the visual media element 312 isillustrated in the float mode with the floating visual media element 500for the web page 302. Similar to FIG. 6, the persistent element 500 isthe visual media element 312 pulled from the normal page flow of the webpage 302 and repositioned to continually “float” at a pre-determinedposition within the viewable area of the browser window 300 over anyexisting content. The textual information 308 continues to be displayed,although part of text lines “f,” “g,” and “h” are hidden by thepersistent element 500.

It is understood that the pre-determined position of the persistentvisual media player is not limited to the upper right corner. It can beset at any area within the viewable area of the browser window 300. Inanother embodiment, rendering the floating player in the block 230 caninclude resizing the visual media element 312. Resizing may bepreferable for small browser windows, such as those in mobile devices,assuming that resizing does not make viewing difficult due to shrinkage,stretching, or resolution issues.

In still another embodiment, rendering the floating player in the block230 includes displaying a minimized floating player (e.g., displayingjust a portion of the player such as the control panel 306) or afloating icon representative of the player. Since the visual media item304 is unlikely to be viewable in such minimized/icon state, the visualmedia item 304 is also placed in a pause mode in the block 230. Anadditional block would exist between blocks 230 and 232 to facilitateviewing the visual media item 304 while in float mode. The viewerindicates a desire to view and/or continue playing the visual media item304 (e.g., clicks on the play button or an expand button, or hovers themouse pointer over the minimized/icon floating player). In response theminimized/icon floating player is replaced by the full size floatingplayer (e.g., floating visual media element 500) and play of the visualmedia item 304 resumes.

Once the persistent visual media player is presented in the browserwindow 300, the viewer is free to scroll the web page 302 up or down,manipulate the control panel of the persistent visual media player,and/or otherwise interact with the web page 302 without losing thepersistent visual media player. In this manner the viewer can view anypart of the web page 302 and have full access to the visual media item304 at the same time. Such functionality is valuable for long web pagessuch as search result pages, blog posts, or user profile pages (e.g.,MySpace), or for mobile devices which tend to have small screens andcorrespondingly small browser windows.

At the block 232, a “stop” status of the persistent visual media playeror the web page 302 is checked to determine whether to continue floatingthe player or to return the player to the normal web page position. The“stop” status can comprise any of one or more of pre-determined statusassociated with the persistent visual media player or the web page 302.Examples of one or more pre-determined status includes, but is notlimited to, the viewer clicking on a stop button included in the playercontrol panel, the viewer clicking on a pause button included in theplayer control panel, the viewer clicking on a reset button included inthe player control panel, the viewer clicking on a refresh icon of thebrowser window 300 (to refresh rendering of the web page 302), theviewer clicking on a close icon provided with the floating visual mediaplayer, the viewer closing the web page 302, the viewer requesting adifferent web page, the visual media item 304 having completed playing,or other possible indications.

If an appropriate “stop” status is detected (“yes” branch 236), then thepersistent visual media player is returned to normal mode in the block238. The extracted visual media element 312 is returned to the normalpage flow to move with the rest of the web page 302. A snapbackanimation (or other visual effect) can accompany the return of theextracted visual media element 312 to the normal page flow. Next, if adifferent web page has not been requested (block 208), then monitoringthe play status of the visual media player 306 continues (block 202). Onthe other hand, if no appropriate “stop” status is detected (“no” branch234), then monitoring for a “stop” status continues.

Even though the persistent visual media player floats over the web page,the persistent visual media player is tied to the web page (it is not aseparate window, such as a pop up window). If, for example, the web pageis closed or refreshed, then the persistent visual media playerdisappears. The persistent visual media player represents enhancedaccess to existing content provided in a web page, by identifying visualmedia item from the web page in response to specific viewer activity andthen floating the extracted visual media item for simultaneous viewingwith any part of the web page.

In alternative embodiments of the flow diagram of FIG. 2, the block 220can be configured to trigger identification of the embedded player basedon a specific portion of the embedded player being out of view (or aboutto go out of view). For example, the specific portion of the embeddedplayer can be the top edge, bottom edge, left edge, right edge, or anyportion of the embedded player.

Additional block(s) can exist between blocks 230 and 232 to addressparticular treatment of the content normally underlying the floatingplayer. Rather than concealing content located in the same area as thefloating player, the web page can be further modified to display suchcontent while the web page is in the float/persistent mode. As anexample, the content that would otherwise be hidden under the floatingplayer can be “pushed down” to display below the floating player. FIG. 9illustrates a web page 900 including a left column 902 and a rightcolumn 904. The left column 902 contains similar content as in the webpage 302 while the right column 904 includes additional content such asadvertisement, text, and/or graphics. A scroll bar 905 is in the sameposition as shown in FIG. 6. When in the float mode, the content in theleft column 902 scrolls with the web page 900, but the content of theright column 904 that would otherwise be hidden by a floating visualmedia element 906 is fully displayed in an area below the floatingvisual media element 906. As another example, the content that wouldotherwise be hidden under the floating player can be “wrapped around”the floating player such that no content is obscured. In FIG. 10, thescroll bar 310 is in the same position as shown in FIG. 6. However, thenormal page flow of the content 502 (as shown in FIG. 6) is modified to“wrap around” or be repositioned to only fill the viewable area notoccupied by the floating player 500. Due to the normal page flow of thetextual information 308, the content that normally follows the content502 may also require repositioning.

Additional block(s) can exist between blocks 230 and 234 to permit usercontrol of the position of the floating player within the browserwindow. FIGS. 6, 8, 9, and 10 illustrate the floating player located atthe upper right corner of the viewable area of the browser window. Oncethe floating player has been rendered at the block 230, the viewer maybe able to reposition the floating player anywhere in the viewable area.Such repositioning capability is advantageous, for example, in theembodiment where content normally underlying the floating player ishidden by the floating player and the viewer wishes to view theunderlying content without scrolling.

In another embodiment, the trigger to initiate the persistent/float modemay be a single trigger such as the embedded player being in play state(block 204) or a portion of the embedded player being outside (or aboutto be outside) the viewable area (block 220). In still anotherembodiment, no trigger may be required. Instead the mechanism isoperable to automatically initiate persistent/float mode a set time(e.g., 3 seconds) after the web page has been presented to the viewer.Other than the variations in triggers, the remaining functionalities ofthe mechanism are as discussed above.

Moreover, although FIGS. 6, 8, 9, and 10 illustrate a browser windowwith a vertical scroll bar, the persistent or floating visual mediaplayer mechanism is applicable for wide web pages (e.g., requiring ahorizontal scroll bar) and/or long web pages (e.g., requiring a verticalscroll bar). Referring to FIG. 11, a web page 1102 is displayed in abrowser window 1100. The web page 1102 is sufficiently large that both avertical scroll bar 1106 and a horizontal scroll bar 1108 are needed toview the entire page. In one embodiment, the persistent or floatingvisual media player mechanism is configured to position a floatingplayer 1104 within the browser window 1100, such as the upper rightcorner, an upper left corner 1110, or a lower right corner 1112. Inanother embodiment, the persistent or floating visual media playermechanism is configured to permit the viewer to change thepre-determined position of the floating player 1104, for example, fromthe upper right corner default position to the upper left corner 1110,the lower right corner 1112, or anywhere in the browser window 1100.

In this manner, an apparatus and method for providing a persistent andfloating visual media element in a web page is disclosed herein. Webpage viewing is improved by providing two viewing modes, afloat/persistent mode and a normal mode. The viewing mode is tailored tothe viewer's actual interaction with the web page. The trigger(s) toinitiate the float/persistent mode and to return to the normal mode areflexible and can be selected to fit the browser application, web page,and/or device rendering the web page. In one embodiment, monitoring boththe status of the embedded visual media player and the position of theembedded visual media player within the viewable area of the browserwindow permits the viewer experience in reading the web page to beoptimized.

It will be appreciated that the above description for clarity hasdescribed embodiments of the invention with reference to differentfunctional units. However, it will be apparent that any suitabledistribution of functionality between different functional units may beused without detracting from the invention. Hence, references tospecific functional units are only to be seen as references to suitablemeans for providing the described functionality rather than indicativeof a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

The software modules discussed herein may include script, batch or otherexecutable files, or combinations and/or portions of such files. Thesoftware modules may include a computer program or subroutines thereofencoded on computer-readable media.

The invention can be implemented in any suitable form includinghardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. Differentaspects of the invention may be implemented at least partly as computersoftware or firmware running on one or more data processors and/ordigital signal processors. The elements and components of an embodimentof the invention may be physically, functionally and logicallyimplemented in any suitable way. Indeed the functionality may beimplemented in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as part ofother functional units. As such, the invention may be implemented in asingle unit or may be physically and functionally distributed betweendifferent units and processors.

One or more sequences of one or more instructions, such instructionsgenerally referred to as “computer program code” or “computer executablecode” (which may be grouped into the form of computer programs or othergroupings), are executable by the server 102 or the client 110 toperform features or functions of embodiments of the present invention.The code may directly cause a processor to perform specified operations,be compiled to do so, and/or be combined with other software, hardware,and/or firmware elements to do so. The terms “computer program product,”“computer-readable medium,” and the like may be used generally to referto media included in, for example, the server 102 or the client 110.These and other forms of computer-readable media may be involved instoring computer program code or logic for use by the server 102 or theclient 110 to perform specified operations.

Moreover, although individually listed, a plurality of means, elements,or method steps may be implemented by, for example, a single unit orprocessor. Additionally, although individual features may be included indifferent claims, these may possibly be advantageously combined, and theinclusion in different claims does not imply that a combination offeatures is not feasible and/or advantageous. Also, the inclusion of afeature in one category of claims does not imply a limitation to thiscategory, but rather the feature may be equally applicable to otherclaim categories, as appropriate.

1. A method comprising: receiving, over a network from a servercomputing device, instructions, executable by a computing device, foridentifying a visual media element from a web page, said instructionsenable the visual media element to be persistently presented at a fixedlocation within a viewable area on a display of the computing devicewhen the web page is simultaneously presented in the viewable area onthe display of the computing device.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe visual media element is identified in response to a play status ofthe visual media element.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the visualmedia element is identified in response to a portion of the visual mediaelement being outside the viewable area.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the visual media element is identified when a portion of thevisual media element being outside the viewable area is eminent.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the visual media element is automaticallyidentified a set time after presentation of the web page in the viewablearea.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the persistent presentation ofthe visual media element comprises overlaying the visual media elementover a portion of the web page.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising receiving the web page, wherein the instructions foridentifying and persistently presenting the visual media element areembedded in the web page.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinidentification of the visual media element comprises extracting thevisual media element from the web page, and persistent presentation ofthe visual media element comprises creating a container element at thefixed location.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein identification andpersistent presentation of the visual media element comprises preventingthe visual media element from repositioning relative to rest of the webpage in response to a scrolling action.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the visual media element comprises a visual media item and avisual media player, and the visual media item is at least one of video,animation, slide show, graphics, video conference feed, webcam feed,video phone feed, and an audio player. 11-23. (canceled)
 24. A computerprogram product tangibly encoded on a computer-readable storage mediumfor execution by at least one processor, comprising: a first set ofinstructions executed by one of said at least one processor forimplementation with a web page, the web page comprising at least a firstcontent, a visual media item and a visual media player, said first setof instructions utilizing the visual media item and the visual mediaplayer from the web page to generate a floating visual media element forthe web page, wherein the floating visual media element is operable topersist regardless of a viewing portion of the web page.
 25. Thecomputer program product of claim 24, wherein the floating visual mediaelement overlays and hides the first content.
 26. The computer programproduct of claim 24, further comprising a second set of instructionsconfigured to remove the floating visual media element.
 27. The computerprogram product of claim 24, wherein the floating visual media elementis generated when the visual media player is in play and about to beoutside the viewing portion of the web page.
 28. The computer programproduct of claim 24, wherein the first set of instructions is includedin the web page.
 29. A computer system, comprising: a server configuredto execute a first set of instructions tangibly stored on acomputer-readable medium associated with the server, said first set ofinstructions enabled for implementation with a web page having at leasta first content, a visual media item and a visual media player, saidfirst set of instructions capable of using the visual media item and thevisual media player from the web page to generate a floating visualmedia element overlaying at least a portion of the web page, wherein thefloating visual media element is capable of persisting regardless of aviewing portion of the web page.
 30. The system of claim 29, wherein theserver includes a second set of instructions capable of removing thefloating visual media element.
 31. The system of claim 29, wherein asecond server includes a second web page having at least a secondcontent, a second visual media item, and a second visual media player,and the first set of instructions is operable to generate a secondfloating visual media element overlaying at least a portion of thesecond web page using the second visual media item and the second visualmedia player.